North Canterbury News: August 12, 2021

Keen helpers ... Peter Whitehead, Ashley Rakahuri Rivercare group trap co­ordinator,
left, is presented with one of the housings for pest traps by Lynn Andrews, Murray Giles,
Colin Dixon, Alan Orchard, Mike Cherry and Ross Stewart.
Residents on hand to
help replace traps
Agroup of CharlesUpham Retirement
Village residents arehelping replace
pest traps swept awayduringflooding
of the Ashley/Rakahuri River.
Lynn Andrews and fellow village
residents havebuilt 76 wooden
housings for the metal pest traps laid
along the braided river to catch
predators endangering rarebirdlife.
They handed over the second batch
of 38 traphousings to the Ashley
Rakahuri RivercareGroup(ARRG)
recently.
ARRG worksinconjunctionwith
other groupsincludingthe
Department of Conservation(DoC)to
protect thebraidedriver­based birds.
The traps help make the Ashley
River asafe place for blackbilled
gulls,banded dotterels,
oystercatchers. The work is also to
help species like black fronted terns,
and wrybillsurvive in whatcan be a
tough environment.
ARRG trappingco­ordinator Peter
Whiteheadsays agood number of DOC­
200 traps are located on the berms of
the riverhad been washedaway by the
late May, earlyJune flooding. The
traps were takendown riverand out to
sea.
“The river ran at 150 cusecs… the
same rate by the way as the Ashburton
River,” Peter said.
“Of our about 450 traps, we lost about
aquarter of them.’’
Rare bird ... Ablack­fronted tern in
breeding plumage soars above the Ashley
River.
PHOTO: FILE
Petersays he is thankful thatthe
RymanHealthcare residents, like
himself retired and with time on hand,
were able to do the trap construction
work.
“That’s very generous and much
appreciated,’’hetoldthe Charles
Uphamresidents including Lynn
Andrews, Alan Orchard, MikeCherry,
Ross Stewart, Murray Giles, Colin
Dixon and Gwenda Johnson. The traps
are beingdistributedalong the
riverbank as weather permits.
The Widest Music Variety
Motorists
urged to
take care
Motorists are beingwarned to take
care on icy roads.
Recent snow and the threat of
some severe frosts are making the
roads treacherousinsome areas.
Road safety co­ordinator at the
Hurunui District Council, Dean
Eades urges motorists to drive to the
conditions, avoid sudden braking or
sharp turning movements, and
accelerate and brake gently and
smoothly.
‘‘And remember to keep asafe
travelling distance, as it takes longer
to stop on slippery roads.’’
He also says landowners have a
responsibility to maintain their
current hedges and shelterbelts,
ensure they don’t protrude on to the
road space, and to choose carefully
where they plant new ones.
Mr Eade says addressing the issue
of trees shading roads at the time of
planting could saveextra work in the
long term.
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NEWS
North Canterbury News, August 12, 2021
Kaiapoi Office
03 3270514•kaiapoi@parliament.govt.nz
137 Williams Street
11
MattDoocey
MP for Waimakariri
RangioraOffice
03 3107468•waimakariri@parliament.govt.nz
Level1Conway Lane,188 High Street
Ienjoy holding constituent
clinicsinOxfordand in
Belfasttobeaccessible;
pleasering my officeifyou
would liketomeetwith me.
Authorised byMatt
Doocey, Parliament
Buildings, Wgtn.
Hurunui Theatre Group presents
Show runs from 26 th August
to 4 th September
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 7:30pm;
Matinee on Saturday 28 th 2pm
Waipara Memorial Hall
Tickets available in August from:
Sally Mac’s Amberley and Gas Waikari
Or online bookings at
www.hurunuitheatre.org
Adults -$25; Seniors -$20;
Children under 16 -$15
2405502
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and103.7 Hanmer Springs andKaikoura